Angus Kinnear said Everton missing out on Europe last season was a failure, setting out a sharper version of the club's ambitions just months into the new ownership era.
The Everton chief executive made the comments in a Radio Merseyside interview this week, saying the club's failure to finish in one of the nine European places available to English clubs was not being dressed up as anything else. The message was simple: the standard set internally is higher than where the team finished.
That made David Moyes' response even more notable. The manager said no one had told him Europe had to be achieved, adding that the priority last season was to move into the new stadium safely and avoid too difficult a campaign. Everton did that, but they still finished 13th after losing their final two league matches.
A late collapse cost Everton their chance
Everton were in one of those nine European places when Merlin Rohl gave them the lead against Sunderland in their penultimate game, but they lost 3-1 at home and then fell to a defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on the final day. The two results ended any outside hope of qualifying and left the club looking back on a season that had promised more at one stage.
Kinnear's framing was blunt. He said the club viewed missing Europe as a failure because it was a failure, and he underlined the expectations around the Friedkin Group, who completed their takeover of Everton in December 2024. In his words, the Friedkins are winners and want to win, and Everton did not win anything last season.
What Moyes said about expectations
Moyes pushed back on the idea that European qualification had been demanded from the start. He said he was surprised by the disappointment because he had never been told that he had to make Europe or be in and around the top end. Instead, he said the focus had been on stability and on making sure Everton navigated the season without major problems.
That contrast matters because it suggests a possible gap between the ambition of the ownership and the message the manager believed he had been given. For a club trying to move forward under new leadership, that kind of disconnect can shape transfer planning, pressure on the coaching staff and the level of expectation around results this season.
Squad confidence and cup competition
Kinnear also said Everton's squad was in a good place, while adding that work remained to be done. He pointed to discussions with the ownership and Moyes about using the Carabao Cup and FA Cup to give supporters something to cheer and get behind.
That leaves Everton with a clear challenge. The club's leadership is speaking more openly about higher standards, but the team still has to show it can turn that ambition into results. Last season ended with disappointment. This season, the conversation has already moved on to what Everton are expected to achieve next.
